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The Time the US Actually Welcomed a Russian Blockade—During the Civil War
Abraham Lincoln and Russia’s Czar Alexander II formed an unusual, but crucial, wartime alliance.
On April 4, 1866, nearly a year after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Russian Czar Alexander II narrowly escaped a similar fate. Within a few weeks, the U.S. Congress adopted a joint resolution expressing its “deep regret of the attempt made upon the life of the Emperor of Russia by an enemy of emancipation.” At Congress’ request, President Andrew Johnson dispatched a special envoy—Assistant Navy Secretary Gustavus Fox—to hand-deliver the resolution to Alexander. In early August, a squadron of American naval vessels, led by the ironclad USS Miantonomoh, dropped anchor off the Baltic port of Kronstadt, where a 21-gun salute and harbor festooned with U.S. flags awaited them.
The ensuing month of ceremonies, dinners, tours, fireworks, and other festivities celebrated the unlikely friendship, never formalized, between “the great Empire of the East, and the Great Republic of the West.” In his remarks to the czar, Fox praised “the unwavering fidelity of the imperial government…throughout the recent period of convulsion.” In return, Alexander promised to “contribute all his efforts to…strengthen the bonds.”
Today such mutual regard is in stark contrast to the enmity that has characterized Russian–American relations since the end of World War II. The connection between a young and growing democracy and an entrenched autocracy also struck some 19th-century observers as unusual: An English traveler during the 1850s attributed it to “some mysterious magnetism” drawing “these two mighty nations into closer contact.” But for many Americans, Russia seemed the most trustworthy of the European nations—an especially reliable buffer against the imperial schemes of Great Britain and France.
more:
https://www.historynet.com/us-russian-alliance-civil-war/
How Russia Helped The 13 Colonies Win The American Revolution
On Independence Day, celebrated on July 4th, Americans reflect on their nation’s history as it came into existence in 1776. The American Revolutionary War began more than a year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but it was fought over eight years and resulted in tens of thousands of casualties. The United States was formed in a world dominated by great empires such as Great Britain, France, Russia, and Turkey. Unbeknownst to many people – even history aficionados – is that the Russian Empire played an important – yet indirect – role in furthering the American cause.
According to many scholars, Catherine II empathized with the colonists, and the common attitude among aristocrats in Saint Petersburg was that “the state of the English court and ministry was not such as to inspire national or outside trust toward them.” She had long predicted that America would become independent of Europe “even in my lifetime.” When the war broke out, she exclaimed that “the colonies have told England goodbye forever.” In her private correspondence, she did not hesitate to blame George III for provoking a meaningless quarrel and urged England to reconcile with the colonies.
Catherine II chose not to openly pick a side in the war. The Russian Empire did not recognize the United States as a sovereign nation until the war ended. In 1780, her foreign minister, Count Nikita Panin, issued a Declaration of Armed Neutrality, which officially declared the Russian Empire’s nonalignment in the Revolutionary War. Nonetheless, the empress unofficially exercised favoritism toward the colonies by trading with them, giving them enough optimism to continue their fight, and eventually trying to serve as a mediator between America and Great Britain – all without compromising Russia’s neutral stance. Through diplomacy and commerce, Catherine II was able to influence the course of the war.
Russia started trading with the colonies over a decade before the Revolution. Americans and Russians saw each other as excellent trade partners, having ample resources to offer each other. Despite Great Britain’s Navigation Acts, which restricted foreign trade directly with the colonies, Russian ships began delivering products like hemp, sail linen, and iron to American ports as early as 1763 and did not stop once the war began. Catherine II believed that an independent America would further Russian business interests, allowing America to trade with the Russian Empire without interference from Britain on the high seas. Continued trade with Russia during the war provided the colonies with a market for their goods as well as the funds and supplies they needed to survive.
more:
https://themillenniumreport.com/2017/09/how-russia-helped-the-13-colonies-win-the-american-revolution/